Monday, 9 March 2015

Recipe - Spiced root veg with kale and yoghurt

Almost every single day of my life is spent surrounded by meat. My day job is managing a BBQ 'Shack' for Grillstock, which if you don't know, is a veritable charnel house of dead farm animals that are hickory smoked at low temperatures every single night until, come sunrise, the meat is so tender, you can just pull the bones straight out of the cooked meat with no effort at all. Yeah, it is as frigging good as it sounds.As you can imagine, in the two years or so I've managed the place, I've eaten a hell of a lot of meat, perhaps too much (Although I remain an unrepentant beef brisket fiend) So its perhaps unsurprising that when I'm cooking at home, I often eat vegetarian.Yes. What the actual f*ck. I really did just say that.This Nigel Slater recipe was published in The Observer Magazine. A few weeks ago and I loved its simplicity, cheapness and the fact it was so open to individual interpretation. Swede, turnip, potatoes, parsnips or a combination all work. Don't have spinach, use kale or chard instead. Its also pretty damn healthy I imagine. Most importantly its absolutely bloody delicious. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! ...or...errr...not, in this instance.Anyway..., here's the recipe...Spiced root veg with kale and yoghurtServes 2You'll need:-1 kg Swede, Turnips, Potatoes, Parsnips (or a combination of any of them, I made it with just swede and it was banging.) Peeled and cut into large pieces1 onion, peeled and roughly choppedknob of butterSplash of oil1 tsp turmeric1 tsp garam masala1 tsp cumin seeds200g of spinach, kale or chard washedMaldon saltGreek yoghurtFresh corianderCook your chosen root vegetables in salted boiling water, you're looking at around 15 mins for large chunks, stick a knife in to see if its cooked. Drain and put to one side.In a shallow pan, fry the onion in a little butter and oil until soft, then add the turmeric, garam masala and cumin seeds. Stir and cook off on a moderate heat for a couple of minutes.Put a large saucepan on the heat, and add the wet spinach, kale or chard and a pinch of Maldon salt. Let it steam until wilted for around 3 mins for spinach, a few minutes longer for kale or chard. Drain and press the water from it.Add your root veg to the frying onions and continue cooking until they are lightly golden and are coated in some of the spices. Season and fold in the spinach, kale or chard. Tip the lot it into bowls. Artfully blob with Greek yoghurt and a few coriander leaves. Season again if it needs it. Job-Jobbed.

About Me

"I wouldn't call it so much a peek as a full blown expose of your innermost culinary pretentions and ambitions. You're effectively rolling over and exposing the soft paunch of your underbelly and asking to be caressed. You're a culinary whore!"